Poplar Creek Forest Preserve, October 6th, 11th, and 16th 2024

Summary

Precipitation Weather History for Rosemont, IL

The most drought impacted prairie plants in the Shoe Factory Road Prairie Nature Preserve

Plants Showing Little or No Impact From Drought

Woody Plants

Scenic Images

Precipitation Weather History for Rosemont, IL

May Precipitation

June Precipitation

July Precipitation

August Precipitation

September Precipitation

Weather Underground, Retrived October 9th, 2024 from https://www.wunderground.com/history

In the above charts, you can see rain was below average from May into July with very little rain falling from mid-July to September. No rain had occurred by October 9th when I had loaded the above graphs.

The most drought impacted prairie plants in the Shoe Factory Road Prairie Nature Preserve.

Hoary puccoon (Lithospermum canescens) on south facing slopes has died back to the ground for the season. Bird’s-foot violet (Viola pedata) looks little fazed by the lack of rain.

Within the small kettles on top of the kame the hoary puccoon is still green. Hoary puccoon also remained green in the tall grass dominated areas.

This lead plant has leaves.

However, most of the surrounding lead plants have lost their leaves. I don’t know if the leaves were lost from the drought or deer browsing.

Silphiums were significantly impacted.

The below compass plant (Silphium laciniatum) has died back to the ground for the season.

Another compass plant that has died back to the ground for the season.

In this patch, some compass plants have died back to the ground for the season and others still have some green leaves.

On the top of the hill a patch of prairie dock has died back to the ground for the season.

View from other side of this patch.

This rosinweed (Silphium integrifolium) has died back to the ground for the season.

The black leaves are white wild indigo. Most have died back to the ground for the season. This is to the east of the Shoe Factory Road Prairie Nature Preserve Border.

The next two images are of burr oak trees showing damage to their leaves from the drought. The leaves of the trees are most damaged on the western exposure.

Plants showing little to no impact from the drought.

In the lower-left corner of the image, purple prairie clover (Dalea purpurea) is not showing noticeable impacts from drought. White prairie clover (Dalea candida) is not shown, but this species also did not show noticeable impacts from drought. In the right-side of the image, prairie coreopsis does not look much impacted by the drought. Although, seed set is sparse for these species.

On the right is fringed puccoon. This plant looks little impacted by drought.

Showy goldenrod (Solidago speciosa) putting on early fall color.

Flowering spurge with fall color.

Western sunflower (Helianthus occidentalis) surviving well. Although, I don’t remember seeing any flower stalks from earlier in the year.

False toadflax (Comandra umbellata) looks like it is getting early fall color but has weathered the drought well.

Cylindrical blazing star (Liatris cylindrica) set a good amount of seed despite drought conditions.

Silky aster (Symphyotrichum sericeum) is surviving well despite drought. A few old flowers with seeds are visible.

Thimbleweed has stayed green and set seed.

Wild Quinine has maintained green basal leaves and stiff-leaved goldenrod looks little impacted by drought.

False boneset (Brickellia eupatorioides) looks stressed by the drought but still managed to produce lots of seeds. This plant was just outside of the Nature Preserve fence.

This panic grass (possibly Scribner’s) has survived the drought well.

In the drainage east of the Shoe Factory Road Prairie Nature Preserve, wild senna has abundant seed pods.

Woody Plants

If you look closely, you can see hazelnut leaves on the lower part of the woody stems. I am surprised to see hazelnut on the most wind exposed slope facing west. The Shoe Factory Road Prairie Nature preserve is burned annually.

Biennial fire in the prairie restoration killed a hazel nut shrub along a fence row. This hazel nut survived until the tall grasses, introduced by restoration, created fire that was too hot for this shrub. However, in the sparse shorter grasses burned annually in the Shoe Factory Road Prairie Nature Preserve the below hazelnut survives.

This is a prairie willow. It is near the western fence of the Shoe Factory Road Prairie Nature Preserve. I had been told prairie willow was in this preserve. However, I do not remember finding it until this visit.

Scenic Images

Starkly beautiful dead tree.

The harvest moon.

Corrections

This post was changed on 10/18/2024 to reflect that the name of the preserve is Shoe Factory Road Prairie Nature Preserve and not Shoe Factory Road Nature Preserve.